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OutlookIndia

Listen to excerpts from Outlook's India, Identify, Gender, Health issue by Pragya Vats  #OutlookIndia #Podcast #OulookMagazine

Transcript

00:00 I am Pragya and I bring to you excerpts from the current issue of Outlook,

00:04 which looks at two cover stories.

00:06 One, ground reports from five states going to polls through three vectors of identity,

00:11 gender and health.

00:13 And will the outcome decide which way the wind will blow in the 2024 general elections?

00:18 Second cover story continues to be on Palestine, titled "From the River to the Sea".

00:24 Home for Hope by Haimardesh Pandey.

00:26 Snehawan in Pune is home to children of farmers who have died by suicide.

00:31 Within its gates, they find a place to nurture their dreams.

00:35 Children of all age groups are scattered around the two acre complex with its gaily painted walls.

00:42 In their yellow t-shirts and blue sweatpants,

00:45 they look like sunflowers blooming in that walled space.

00:49 Some are playing, while some others sit under trees

00:52 with their books and pencils jotting on their notebooks.

00:55 The complex, with its multi-coloured building, is Snehawan.

00:59 Home to 60 children, all bound by their sad tales of personal loss.

01:04 A parent who has died by suicide.

01:07 They're all children of farmers from different parts of Maharashtra,

01:10 from impoverished families, whose parents, predominantly fathers,

01:14 chose suicide rather than see another debt-ridden day.

01:18 Snehawan, with its white and blue painted buildings,

01:21 some with low roofing, three storey, under construction,

01:25 and some built with large shipping containers,

01:28 is a place that teaches children from the poorest of families that they too can have dreams.

01:34 32-year-old Ashok Deshmane, an IT professional who gave up his job to look after these children,

01:41 spent his childhood and teenager years in abject poverty.

01:44 He convinced the next kin to send the children to Snehawan,

01:48 located 200 km away from Mumbai, in Chakan, in Khed Taluka of Pune district.

01:55 Convincing the surviving parent, often a farmer's widow,

01:58 whose relatives have a major say in the future of children in the households hit by suicide,

02:04 is a challenging task.

02:05 When every child is a farmhand, the families are not too keen on educating them.

02:11 They are poor and their biggest challenge is to get the next meal, says Deshmane,

02:16 whose work with these children has been applauded by many.

02:20 Since 2015, when he took in the first lot of children and started looking after them

02:26 in two rented 10x10 feet rooms in Bhosari, an industrial hub near Pune, he has come a long way.

02:33 Snehawan is a happy place with its chatter and laughter.

02:37 Deshmane and his 26-year-old wife Archana keep it so.

02:42 He says his sole aim is to empower as many children as he can with the funds he has,

02:48 with education and skills that will make them job creators instead of job seekers.

02:54 They are smart and show a willingness to learn.

02:57 None of them will be farmers.

02:58 They have their dreams and Snehawan is where they learn that dreams can be fulfilled.

03:05 For this and more, read the current issue of Outlook.

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